Village Beat

As the sidewalk ballet performances come to a stop due to the COVID-19 crisis, reminisce in Greenwich Village's most-loved urban activist, Jane Jacobs, and celebrate Jane's Walk NYC from home. Since 2011, the Municipal Art Society has been proud to host Jane's Walk NYC, an annual festival of free volunteer-led "walking conversations" inspired by Jane Jacobs. Each morning beginning Monday, April 27, and running through Sunday, May 3, MAS will announce a new daily activity that allows New Yorkers to connect virtually to celebrate and pay tribute to the magic of everyday life in New York—all the places, people, and encounters that we cherish more than ever in these difficult times. Scroll to the bottom of this blog post if you want to look ahead for some sneak peaks for this year's VIRTUAL Jane's Walk NYC!

To celebrate, we've also created a list of ways you can participate from home:

Jane protesting the demolition of Penn Station in 1962; the original Penn Station's demolition is known to have helped established New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission. (Credit: Walter Daran/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

4. As we stay in home for quarantine, spread pictures and share words of your most-missed moments of NYC sidewalk ballet. Here are some memories of our lively storefronts and sidewalk ballet performances around the district! #RememberSidewalkBallet #JanesWalkNYC

In collaboration with City Lore, MAS will promote nominations to the Census of Places that Matter by email, social media, and on the MAS website. Add your beloved places to their digital encyclopedia–the Census of Places that Matter!

DAY 3 (WED, 4/29): NYC from our Windows

MAS will ask people to share what they see from their home windows on social media with #JanesWalkNYC, uniting us in the moment.

DAY 4 (THU, 4/30): Love Poems to NYC

In celebration of the last day of National Poetry Month, MAS will encourage people to share their love for the city by posting poetry, haikus etc. by email and on social media using #JanesWalkNYC.

DAY 5 (FRI, 5/1): Movie Night with Citizen Jane

Following up the past few #MASMovieNight Fridays, MAS will invite everyone to tune in at 8 PM EDT on Twitter and Instagram while we watch Citizen Jane together. Citizen Jane is available for streaming on Hulu. People can share their reactions and thoughts about the film by using hashtag #MASMovieNight and #JanesWalkNYC. This will encourage conversation about Jane’s legacy, our great city, and urban life.

In collaboration with Urban Archive and participating organizational partners, MAS will release an Urban Archive collection of virtual Jane’s Walk stories for everyone to explore.

MAS is putting together a series of images using Google Street View relating to MAS advocacy campaigns on social media using #JanesWalkNYC. MAS can’t wait to share them with you!

Get live updates about Jane’s Walk NYC by following the hashtag, #JanesWalkNYC, and checking MAS’ website every morning at 9AM and following their social medias(FB, Twitter, IG) to be the first to hear what they’re up to that day!